Baseball for blind guys!

That's right, blindfolds and aluminum bats do have collaborative uses other than junior's birthday piñata. 'Beep Baseball' is sport that combines a keen sense of hearing, communication and lots of trust.

Here are the basics: The ball has a built-in speaker that is continually beeping. The pitcher and catcher are the only sighted players on the team, and the rest of the team wears blindfolds (not all of the players are 100% blind) to keep the game fair. After the ball is hit, the batter runs directly toward the randomly activated buzzing noise from either first or third baseline (approx 100 ft. away). If the batter can sprint to the 4 ft. tall buzzing padded base before the field of six diving defenders can stop the ball then it's a run - if not, it's an out.

The entire game is played under the supervision of volunteers who make every effort to prevent sideline collisions and watch the game without making a sound until each play is over.

Amazing!

Things NOT to forget

Wedding bliss 2007

Pictured are the highlights from wedding 3 0f 7.

Movin' on... over

Deciding to move in NYC is generally not an effortless decision. My recent uproot from the Upper East Side to a new apartment in Long Island City was a choice made primarily to save some green, but with that decision came a few sacrifices that will take some adjustment.

My new neighborhood is directly across the East River in a heavily industrial section of Queens. Basically, an area that is thriving between the hours of 8am - 6pm – the exact hours that I'm never there. All of the restaurants and stores are closed by the time I do actually get home from work. Awesome.

On board the blogtrain

Ok. So I'm entering the blogosphere kicking and screaming.

For the past year or more there has been nonstop hype surrounding this phenomenon of social networking, and I don't mean the normal kind of networking where a polite handshake and a stiff drink ease the socially awkward into finding common ground in hopes of deeming the experience a delightful and/or productive encounter. No! This networking is a much more passive yet engaging process of carefully curating and crafting each exchange with all who is willing.

So back to the kicking and screaming part. While I witness many friends submerse themselves in this curious hobby I still haven't been able to find my own niche that I feel would ultimately be blog-worthy. Not having a particular hobby or interest that I specifically care to spend time writing about is something that for a long time has prevented me from exploring a blog. But after much deliberation, personal turmoil, and a few nightmares I've narrowed my starting-a-blog-justification down to these two reasons:

1. If you can't write well, you might as well stay home

Errr... or at least don't leave home expecting to change the world with the written word. Admittedly, it's a skill that has been underrated in my life for way too long. Having a creative career the emphasis can unintentionally shift to visual aesthetics because you work directly with copywriters who can practically do the thinking for you. And who doesn't want to think for themselves?

2. Life in New York City is too interesting not to talk about

As the moment I envision this blog as being a way to report/vent/reminisce about how New York is either making me more or less crazy. I'm not saying this blog will be 100% committed to living life in NYC, there may be posts that explore other thoughts/observations/etc.

To paraphrase Noah Brier, a good friend and 57% inspiration to start this blog: "If you start something today, in 20 years you will have been doing it for 20 years." So without further a due, here's to the start of the unexpected.

Cheers!

ab

ps. Are you supposed to sign every post? I'm so green!